


Jekyll and Hyde

by hannibalmontanabal



Category: Hannibal (TV), Hannibal Lecter Series - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Role Reversal, cannibal!will, dark!Will
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-05
Updated: 2013-06-05
Packaged: 2017-12-14 02:12:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/831531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hannibalmontanabal/pseuds/hannibalmontanabal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For Tumblr user The-Hound-of-Sherlock, who requested a role reversal AU, in which Hannibal is an FBI agent with a traumatic past and Will is the cannibalistic serial murderer. Also, clothes swap at the end.</p><p>Will is still an empath, but in a much darker and more twisted way. Hannibal's back story is congruent with canon.<br/>This was a lot of fun to write.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Jekyll and Hyde

"I can still taste the blood in my mouth. I feel like I'm losing my grasp on who I am and there's nothing that I can do to stop it." Hannibal Lecter is saying, dark eyes glittering with fear.

Not that Dr. Graham needs to look at Hannibal to know that man is afraid. He reeks of fear. The air is thick with the delicious scent of Hannibal's fear, and Will wants more.

"Tell me about your mother." Will says softly. Hannibal looks at him in surprise.

"I would really prefer not to." Hannibal says, his accent softening his words like butter.

"Now, Hannibal, if you can't be honest with me then what's the point in you being here?" Will purrs, making sure that each sharpened word rings metallic. Each syllable a dagger, leaving puncture wounds in Hannibal's frail psyche. 

Will watches as the man visibly flinches, and smiles innocently. He knows that Hannibal looks to him as a life line. All it takes to convince Hannibal to cooperate is to threaten the stability of their friendship. Cut off Hannibal's air supply with words painted in gentle cruelty, and Hannibal will behave like an apologetic dog who tried to jump the fence. Come with his tail between his legs, eyes to the ground, and lay his head in Will's lap. And Will has a habit of collecting strays.

But this is not the side of Hannibal Lecter that Will delights in seeing. Every now and then, something darker will emerge from the surface. Now that Will has seen it, he isn't going to stop until it's in full view. Until Hannibal discards the useless Dr. Jekyll and becomes Mr. Hyde. 

"I want to know about your family history, so I can better understand you. I'm aware that your background is a tragic one. I need to see it from your point of view." Will says, inspecting the dirt beneath his fingernails. He knows how much Hannibal craves eye contact, and Will withholds it every so often as a way to punish the patient. Sometimes just to watch the poor man squirm. "Don't you trust me?" And Will knows this is plunging the knife deep into Hannibal's side. The words bubble from Hannibal's lips like fresh blood.

"When I was a very small boy, I lived with my family in Lithuania." Hannibal starts, folding his hands into his lap. Will listens to Hannibal's sad, terrible story. Devours every word and has to suppress the the urge to lick clean the tears which fall from Hannibal's eyes. 

Hannibal had watched his parents murdered before his very eyes, and watched as his beloved sister was cannibalized. He had found out later that he'd unknowingly eaten some of the little girl, as well. It was a tragic story indeed.

"Still, when I dream, I hear Mischa's screams." Hannibal shutters, more tears falling onto the lapels of his very expensive shirt. The teardrops bring out the dark red of the fabric, making it look like dried blood. Will rewards him for opening up by placing a gentle hand on his cheek. 

"I know this was difficult for you to talk about, but thank you for telling me." Hannibal pulls him into an embrace, and Will gets the oddest sensation that Hannibal is smelling him.

 

 

\---

Later that night Will cooks the intestines of a blonde barista who had messed up his coffee order not once, but twice. Once he's settled into the solitude and comfort of his home, he can allow himself to get lost in empathy. He throws the dogs scraps of meat before sitting at the table, and prepares to fully immerse himself.

He recalls the words Hannibal had used to describe his horrific childhood. The pendulum swings, and Will is crying. Suspended in emotions not his own.

Someone else's tears fall from Will's eyes. Hannibal's tears.

Will laments for the long, lost Mischa. Hannibal's poor sister, ripped away in her youth. Cannibalized by monsters. The loss and the guilt and the secret urges of Hannibal's heart show themselves to Will, and god, Hannibal's borrowed pain is so delicious. It compliments the flavor of the intestines beautifully. Like fine wine.

Losing himself to empathy is the only way that Will can sleep, and feeling Hannibal's misery lulls Will into the best sleep he's ever had. 

 

\----

Will wakes, feeling new. Feeling like himself again. His phone rings in the other room, and he pulls himself from his bed, carding a hand through his hair. Stretching, he walks into the living room and picks up the phone. It's Jack Crawford.

"Hello Jack." Will answers.

"Will? We need you at a crime scene as soon as possible. It's Hannibal Lecter, he's having some kind of melt down." 

"I'm on my way." Will answers. He smiles to himself, pulling on an unwashed pair of jeans and a tee shirt before he cancels his appointments for the day and drives out to his own crime scene.

 

When Will arrives, he sees a small crowd of FBI agents circling around his patient. Their faces are inquisitive. Judgmental. Like vultures. Will pushes them away from Hannibal, who is rocking back and forth and mumbling to himself. 

"Hannibal, it's me. Dr. Graham. Come back to me, Hannibal. I'm here. You're safe." Hannibal blinks and looks up at Will, sobs once, then stills.

"Dr. Graham?" Lecter whispers. 

"Yes, Hannibal." Will smiles, smoothing out Hannibal's hair.

"Don't leave me." Hannibal says, biting his lip. And how could Will deny him?

 

Will drives Hannibal back to his office for an impromptu therapy session. Will is eager to hear what Hannibal saw in Will's crime. Wonders if Hannibal could feel the barista's blood drip on his shoes, just as Will had when he'd killed her. 

Will finds nothing so pleasurable as hearing of his own murders from Hannibal's mouth. He experiences them all over again with fresh perspective. 

When they arrive at the office, Will pauses thoughtfully.

"Hannibal, I want to try something." He says after a moment. "Promise me you'll give it a chance."

"What is it, Will?" Hannibal asks softly.

"As a way to help remove yourself from your breakdown today, I want you to put yourself in my shoes." Will tells him, closing the space between them.

"What do you mean?" 

"The idea is a bit experimental, but bear with me. I think this might help you." Will tells him. "Switch clothes with me." 

"What?" Hannibal frowns, taking a step back. 

"I need you to trust me. What you need is to step out of yourself for a moment. Become someone else."

"Become you?" Hannibal questions, eyes scanning Will's face in uncertainty.

"Yes." Will replies, swiftly removing Hannibal's tie and unbuttoning his shirt. Hannibal lets him, appearing to be more than aroused. Will removes Hannibal's suit with care, and offers his patient his own tee shirt and tattered jeans.

Once they're dressed, Will examines Hannibal thoughtfully. His clothes are tight on Hannibal's form, and to be honest, Hannibal looks just as refined in Will's tee shirt. Just as elegant.

Will feels Hannibal's expensive shirt against his skin, the fabric soft and luxurious and smelling of Hannibal. Exotic and full of promise. Will could get used to this.

He watches Hannibal's eyes widen. His face contorts in despair and horror as he understands. Will watched with delight as everything becomes clear in Hannibal's mind.

And he knows Hannibal has seen everything. He knows Hannibal knows, all that was needed was for him to step outside of himself and into Will. Just as Will had hoped.

"You killed all of those people." Hannibal breathes, voice riddled with intrigue and terror. "You slaughtered them like cattle." 

"Like cattle, yes." Will answers, grinning. 

They're even now. No walls between them. No borders uncrossed. They've been inside each other's minds and the lines of what is Hannibal and what is Will begin to blur. 

Hannibal lets out a staggered exhale, his eyes never daring stray from Will's.

Much to Will's pleasure, Hannibal whispers, "Show me."

**Author's Note:**

> I might might might write a part two to this I don't know. Dark!Will is my favorite thing.


End file.
